Fight breaks out after Jefferson beats East at buzzer

Tuesday

Mar 4, 2014 at 10:00 PMMar 4, 2014 at 10:42 PM

By Matt TrowbridgeRockford Register Star

BELVIDERE - M.L. Moore and Chaz Johnson led Jefferson to a remarkable 51-49 Class 4A regional semifinal win Tuesday over East on a night the J-Hawks shot 1-for-22 inside the 3-point arc in the first half at Belvidere North.

But instead of remembering the heroics of Moore (23 points) and Johnson (a game-winning 12-footer at the buzzer over 6-foot-5 Tony Evans Jr.), Jefferson's win will probably be remembered more for an ugly fight that originally broke out in the handshake line and then spilled onto the court.

"It really is unfortunate, because this is not what our schools are about right now," East coach Roy Sackmaster said. "Our schools are really good right now. It's unfortunate that this puts a black eye on us."

Neither Sackmaster nor Jefferson coach Todd Brannan said they saw how the fight started. Moore said an East player threw the first punch.

"It's depressing," Moore said. "They shouldn't have fought us just because we beat them. It shouldn't have ended like it did."

Good 3-point shooting - the J-Hawks were 7-for-13 in the first three quarters) and tough defense on East kept Jefferson in the game even though it shot only 5-for-35 on two-pointers the first three quarters.

"That's what we wanted; we talked all year about our bigs being able to contest," Sackmaster said. "We just didn't finish well enough. They were more physical than us. They were tougher than us."

Especially in the fourth quarter, when Jefferson was suddenly 6-for-8 on two-point shots. That included Johnson's winning play on a highly contested shot by a defender who was 4 inches taller.

"I felt my shot and just shot it," Johnson said.

Johnson hadn't scored a point since the first two minutes of the game.

"Coach always talks about being ready. You never know when your time is coming," Johnson said.

"My feeling was my team did it. It wasn't my shot. My team did it. We would have never been there without all the little things we did."

And the big things Moore did.

"He was phenomenal. He was on," Johnson said.

But the fight afterward left a bad taste even for the J-Hawks.

"It's sad," Brannan said. "People that are maybe seeing us for the first time, that's going to be the impression they are left with."

No police were at the game, but Boone County Sgt. Dan Reid said four would be at Friday's regional title game against Huntley. Reid said no arrests were made and there were no injuries. Both teams were kept in their locker rooms until the gym and parking lot were cleared.

Boylan Regional

Boylan survived a fast Guilford start and a late rally to win 57-53. The Vikings scored the first nine points before the Titans stormed back to take a 29-17 halftime lead.

"We came out a little tight," Boylan coach Mike Winters said. "They had the opportunity to play (Monday) and we didn't. Sometimes it takes a little time to get the jitters out."

Brock Stull led the Titans with 16 points while Mike Schmid chipped in 14. Sedrick Jones Jr. scored 18 for Guilford, which got within two points in the final two minutes.

"We had the chance to finish it at the free throw line and didn't," Winters said. "Guilford took advantage, but we held on at the end."